Francis Metallic Surfboat · Photo: Andrew Jameson · CC BY-SA 4.0Douglas’ library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Saugatuck-Douglas District Library serves 5,686 people in and around Douglas. Last year it lent 94K books, movies and e-books and logged 52K visits.
The short version on Douglas’s library
One of the busiest library systems its size
Saugatuck-Douglas District Library logs 9.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 13 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 92% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 45% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. It’s 24% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Programs lean toward adults
55% of the 386 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 155 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024; Saugatuck-Douglas District Library serves 5,686 people in and around Douglas, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Douglas’ civic life grade
Douglas isn’t graded on civic life: its library is a branch of Saugatuck-Douglas District Library, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Douglas
11.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: environment & animals.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
About 3 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Saugatuck-Douglas District Library serves 5,686 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 34 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Saugatuck-Douglas District Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
94K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
22,923 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Saugatuck-Douglas District Library, 174 Center St., Douglas.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Saugatuck-Douglas District Library branch.
New in Douglas? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.60 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Douglas cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $423K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $423K budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 2,511 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas | Saugatuck-Douglas District Library fine-free | — | 53 | — too few inputs |
| Saugatuck Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Saugatuck | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Saugatuck-Douglas District Library serves 5,686 people in and around Douglas, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Douglas.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Douglas
Does Douglas have a public library?
Yes. Saugatuck-Douglas District Library, 174 Center St., serves 5,686 people in and around Douglas (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Saugatuck-Douglas District Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Douglas’ library?
It logged 9.1 visits and lent 16.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Douglas’ civic life grade?
Douglas isn’t graded on civic life: its library is a branch of Saugatuck-Douglas District Library, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Douglas.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.